Perfect Love - Part 2 — Franklin Walden

The Workers in the Vineyard and God’s Sovereign Grace

Jesus gave us a parable of that. He went out and looked at the marketplace and he found them standing there with nobody hiring them to go to work. He hired them and put them out there. He went back another hour and hired some more and put them in his vineyard.

He went back and hired some more and the eleventh hour he went back and hired those that were standing. No man had hired them. It came the time of day to pay off. Everyone received a penny. The ones that had worked in the early morning and the tall of the day and the hot of the heat of the sun began to grumble and complain.

And say listen. He said we've labored all day and they have only labored an hour. And you're paying them just as much. He said the Lord said unto him. Have I done thee wrong? Did not I agree with you?

Have not I paid you what I hired you for? Can I do with what mine is to who I want to do it with? It's in my power to do what I want to do with it. I haven't done you any wrong. When I hired you, you agreed to work all day for a penny.

And if I want to give a man a penny to work one hour, that's my business. You have no right to get jealous. You have no right to get upset. You have no right to have envy in your heart. You have no right to judge me that I'm unjust in doing what I do with what is mine.

Grace for the Returning Sinner

We today have no right to tell God that he has not a right to bless some of these people that you don't think ought to get blessed. That you don't think ought to get healed. Maybe they come out of the hog pen big brother.

And maybe they're coming home. The Bible says the well need not a physician. Amen. The well need not a physician. Maybe there's somebody out there that just woke up and come to themselves and said what a fool I've been.

All these years I've wasted my life. I've sold my wild oats. I've went out and laid with harlots. And I've prayed and drank and owned dope. Or maybe I've been bound with all kinds of sins and things of this.

And I see what a fool I've been now. I want Jesus to be my Savior. I want to come to Him. I want to live for Him. And that's the reason you don't see the breakthrough in the altar calls. And I'm going to say this tonight.

You say you might ought to save this to the last night. No. The ones that's really on God's side will be back tomorrow night. If they possibly can. But I want to tell you something. Brother this is an hour that you need to take notice of who's really got God.

When you give an altar call and you can't find people that will come down and pray concerned about a man or woman's soul. And when you give an altar call at the end of the service. And the people that are supposed to be praying and on fire for God get up and go home.

Without coming down trying to get that person saved. And praying them through to the Holy Ghost. There's something wrong. I had a man to come to my church. And he sat in the service for three nights. He wanted to hold a revival for us.

The deacons came to me and said what are you going to do? I said I'll let you know the third night. What I'm going to do? Well I'm going to let him hold a meeting tonight. I got up and preached and I gave an altar call.

And soon as I gave the altar call the preacher shot out the door and went home. The second night the same thing. The third night the same thing. He called me the next day on the phone and said well what do you think?

You think I could come in that hell with a man? I said no you can't. A man or a woman. I don't care how much salvation you possess. Or claim to have. I don't care how much you got. Until you get a burden for souls.

The Bible said he that wineth souls is wise. Though I pray for the sick. Though I cast out devils in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything I do is geared to get a soul saved. You may not be aware of that.

Everything I do is geared to get their attention back on the Lord Jesus Christ. We've got to start abiding in this love friends. We cannot continue on as we're going. Divided we fall together we stand.

The One Church Under Christ’s Headship

Do you understand? What's going to happen? The time is over. You say well you're wasting your time brother Walden. There's only one church in here. I know that and I'm in it. You say well you're not in it unless you're in our church.

I'm in the church. The church that he's the head of. The church brother that he rules and governs. The church that's filled with his agape love. The church that every member is fitly joined together by the spirit of God.

Do you understand what I'm talking about? I'm in that church. I'm in the one that he said I'm the way, the truth, and the life. I went through the door and Jesus said I'm the door. My shepherd is Jesus Christ.

I know that God's got other shepherds too. But I know we've got one chief shepherd over all the shepherds. And that's the one we're going to have to give an account of at the judgment day. Do you love the Lord?

We'd better get ourselves straightened out. I wish I could come in here and just have prayer lines and pray for you folks. And see things happen. But the devil mocks us. The devil stands off and lies.

And he'll go and tear it all over the community. Everywhere and in churches. Say well someone was there last night and I seen him pray. And now I know they was a good saint. And said they didn't get anything.

So they ain't nothing to that preacher, nothing to that pastor. That's what the devil wants you to do. He wants you to get your eyes in that direction. But they don't want you to know what's in the heart.

Sin, Healing, and the Necessity of Inner Repentance

That's the reason many times and you know if you're in my meetings very much. I'll stop the prayer line if I'm having a prayer line. I'll say listen you've got something in your heart. If they will admit it.

Then God will forgive them. If they don't I don't say a word. I just let them go. Because God's not going to heal a liar. God's not going to go around healing the devil. Destroy his works. He's against the kingdom of the devil.

You've got to want this thing. God does not force himself on anybody. But he opens himself up to whosoever will. Friends tonight I love you. But we are in a spiritual warfare today like never before. These religious demons have got a hold of people.

And you can be so religious. By the time you turn around you get more religious. But without that born again experience. And the power of God and love of God in your heart. I don't care if you give your body to be burned.

I don't care if you prophesy. I don't care what you do according to Corinth in the 13th chapter. I don't care what it is without that agape love. That charity. You become up at the end of great big zero.

And that means nothing. But brother Walden. You don't know what this man has done to me. I want to tell you a little story. Before I was saved. A man done me so dirty. He done me so low down. Treated me terrible.

Before I was saved. Now listen to this. Before I was saved he done something to me. And I got hate in my heart. I even loaded the gun to kill the man. Hadn't it been for God and my parents and my mom and dad.

I guess I would have done it. That was before I was saved. But God saved my soul. And when he did one day I happened to be visiting this home. And this man walked in. And I reached over and took him by the hand.

And looked him straight in the face. And I said sir. I love you. I love you. That man dropped his head and walked out of that house. I've never seen that man to speak to him since that day. But I don't have that hate in my heart towards that man today.

I'd put shoes on his feet today. I'd give him the coat off of my back if he needed today. Though he done me wrong. And he's never asked me to forgive him for the wrong that he done me. But I forgave him.

I went to him and told him I love him. I don't have nothing against him. God in heaven knows that. But I want to tell you something neighbor. This is an hour. That we better get our lives straightened up according to the word of God.

Aligning Christian Conduct with God’s Word

Not according to the creeds or the doctrines of your church. Or some man's order but according to God's word. According to God's word. It's got to line up, line up on line and precept upon precept. I know that there's a lot of people.

If I were to go down each line I could find something about you tonight that I wouldn't like. And you could find things about me that you don't like. And some of you's already found that out tonight. But that doesn't make God's word change one bit.

That doesn't give you a right to break God's word. We're all in this thing together. And there'll come a time. Hallelujah. When we'll line up with God's word. Either we'll line up with the spirit of the antichrist and take the mark of the beast.

This is the hour we're living in. But brother Walden you don't understand. I do understand. Not long ago. Well it's been several years now. I was down in the. And in just a short period of weeks. I met 18 different groups of people.

That would have swore on a stack of bibles. If they had to. And they come to me and said. Brother Walden. If you're not in our church. Then you're not in the bride. You're not a member of the bride. You've got to be in our church.

You've got to believe exactly what we believe. You've got to stand there. 18 of them in just a few weeks. Have got that kind of an idea in their minds. Brother God's not a bigamist. He's got one church.

One bride. He knows who his bride is. We're bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and spirit of his spirit. Hallelujah. He's our example. I want you to know he's coming back at the church. Without spot or recall.

He's coming back at the one holy. He's coming back at the one field with his love. He's coming back at the one neighbor. That's watching and praying for him. And seeking the face of God. Do you get what I'm talking about?

Hallelujah. He is God. I can't help it if I get excited. I know what I'm talking about. Brothers and sisters listen. We've got to follow God. And we can't follow him. And have hate in our hearts. We can't do it with invent strife.

You can't do it. You just can't do it. Have you ever stopped to wonder? Now I'll ask you a question tonight and I want to drive it home to you. Have you ever stopped to wonder why some of you folks have got in prayer line after prayer line of ministers and admonition all put on you?

Every time one comes through you pastor. Every time he prays for the sick and you never get healed. Have you ever stopped to wonder how come? How one of these little ones here that comes maybe not even dressed to go to church.

That doesn't even know anything about the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That don't know anything and they stand here. And you see the arthritis leave them. You see the deaf ears go. You see them there and here you are.

That speaks in tongues and prophesies and shouts and dance. And can't get God to heal you. Does God have respect to person? What is wrong? I was in Sudbury, Ontario. And a lady come up and she dressed holy.

She looked holy. And I mean she was dressed just like a holy person dresses. And I believe in dressing right. And I believe in dressing like the Bible says. And living like the Bible says. I want you to know that.

Healing Testimonies and the Danger of Spiritual Pride

I walked over and laid my hands on her head. And she said I've been having migraine headaches for three years. And they have not let up. And I just can't stand no more. And she's standing just like this.

Just like God owed her some kind of a favor. And so I prayed for her and she went off just like she come up there. But nothing happened whatsoever. I turn and I looked and here was a little 16 year old girl.

That had just happened to be passing by the school house. And it was snowing outside. And she come in to see what all the cars was doing there. And got interested in what was taking place. And got in the prayer line and she was standing there.

And I turned and I said what do you want the Lord to do for you? Standing there dressed not even decent to come in to the house of God. Now some of you ain't going to like this. But God didn't call me to please man.

I got to please Him. She grabbed me by the hands. She didn't know any better. And she said first thing sir. If I've committed any sins I want God to forgive me of them. That's the first words that came from her lips when I asked her the question.

And then she went on and she said I have had migraine headaches since I was 13 years old. Three years I took the highest powered dope that a doctor can give. They can't give me any more high powered dope.

I've tried everything. I continually my head grows worse. I can't stand it. I want to beat it against the wall. And I said oh God. You've heard her cries. And instantly she was healed. And came back to the house of God dressed decent.

And testified that she hadn't had one more headache. This woman stood there proud of what she was. Stood there with a proud. The Bible said he hates a proud looking a lying tongue. Proudness and lying goes together.

Do you understand? Do you understand? This woman never did get healed. A little old lady came in the same meeting. Crippled up with arthritis. Walking like this. A husband beside her. That's the way she had to walk.

Couldn't hardly walk thin. All warped and twisted with this rheumatoid arthritis. She was a Catholic. And I said will you accept the Lord Jesus Christ. And go on and follow all of his commands. I prayed for her.

And this is no lie. You can go to Subbaron and ask the people. I noticed this. And when she fell on the platform under the power of God. You could hear her bones crack as they unwound. And loosened up from the arthritis.

She stood up on her feet healed just like that. Her husband standing there didn't know what to make of it. He said pray for me. I don't know where he fainted. Or where he went out on the power. Or what happened to him.

But I know his wife got healed. Now I'm going to say this tonight. I love my brothers and my sisters. And I believe this what I'm talking about. The Pentecostal experience. Because I believe it's right.

I believe in the gift of the Spirit. In speaking in tongues and water baptism. And calling on the name of the Lord. I believe all of this. I believe this. But it's a shame to say this tonight. I guess I find that less majority of the people get healed.

The people that's got the Holy Ghost. Than the people that don't have it. Everywhere I go. It's because they've got something in their hearts. Or either they're filled with pride. I love you brothers.

Mutual Love and Bearing One Another’s Burdens

I love you sisters. I love my fellow minister brothers. But until we get the right attitude toward one another. And take this that God has given us. And begin to destroy the works of the devil. Instead of trying to destroy one another.

We're not going to get anything from God. God will raise up a whole new crop. And pour out His Spirit upon these babies. That's just coming up. These babies that's just crying out of our Father. These babies that's just hungry.

Do you understand? We've got to come together in the love of God. And defend our brother with the Word of God. We can't stand by and let them talk about this man. Somebody say something about this man.

You go to War Farm. And if you know something on this man. You don't tell the whole church before you go to that man. You don't go in the whole church and say I heard so and so. I was in a church holding a revival not long ago.

A man come in to me and said I want to talk to you Brother Wally. Come in and he started talking to me and said I want to tell you something. He said so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so.

One of the brothers come to me and said listen. It's all over the church. About what's happened here. I said alright who told it? He said well I told it. I said why didn't you go to this man and tell him?

You are wrong. I don't care how much Holy Ghost you got. The Bible says go to thy brother. Go to him first. And if he can be reconciled to you that's fine. Don't never let the church know anything about it.

Then if he don't. Go get some elders in the church. And then if he will not hear the elders. Then bring him before the church. And if he will not hear the church. Then count him as a heathen. And he says rebuke a man and if he repents forgive him.

If he don't repent you don't have to see. Go on his way. As a heathen. You understand? Friends tonight I feel it kind of warm in here don't you? But it ain't because the thermostat's been turned up. I'm trying to get your hearts right.

You say but brother Walden I've got a grudge against somebody. You better get it out of your heart. You better get it out of your heart. You say yeah but they don't believe like me. Brothers and sisters listen.

They never will. As long as you are trying to cram something down their throat. Without the love of God and putting vinegar on what you're trying to cram down. Down the throat see. They never will. They never will do it.

You've got to love people. You can't drive people. You've got to lead people. You drive goats and lead sheep. Amen. You love the Lord. Isn't he wonderful? Oh my God children tonight. What are we going to do?

Repentance Requires a Change of Direction

Are we going to continue on in the way we're going? Let me tell you something. Now I felt tonight that some of you just a minute ago withdrew. Drawed back from what I was saying and said oh I don't want to hear nothing of that.

I was facing a problem. And I was telling this to a building contractor. And I said I don't know what to do. I prayed about it. I asked others about it. I just don't know what to do about it. Brother.

He was sitting in his truck. His construction truck where he was going to his job. And he looked at me and he said Brother Walden. Remember. I'll never forget these words of wisdom as long as I live. He said remember.

The future will be just exactly like the past. Lest there become a change. I didn't say nothing. I stood there. Now if I don't want things to be like they are. Keep going like they're going. I've got to make a change somehow for them to change what's happening.

If you don't want to keep going like you're going. You don't want to keep being defeated by the devil. You don't want to keep having this bitterness and hate and nightmares and taking sleeping pills to sleep with and trusting putting your faith in man and can't trust in God and every time a little something happens you got fear of failure.

Our hearts and your homes on the rocks and your children is going out and doing things and you won't forgive and you won't pray and you won't fast and you won't seek God. You love the Lord? Isn't he wonderful?

Isn't he wonderful? Isn't he wonderful? Do you love him tonight? The Lord will not confirm a lie. The Lord will not confirm the words of a lie. The Lord only confirms his word when it's preached in the spirit of truth.

You understand? He only confirms his word when it's preached in the word of truth. He only confirms his word when it's preached in the word of truth. We're in bad shape folks. In bad shape. We've got 113 groups of Jesus' name.

Pentecostal folks. All of them fight one another. Just about it. We've got 57 varieties of the Trinitarians. Pentecostal folks. All talk in tongues. All prophesy. They all fight one another. Just about it.

Denominational Division and the Call to Christian Unity

Even the same organization. The preachers can't even get along together. We've got over 500 groups of Baptists and you can't find the hard-shelled Baptists and the streaky-headed Baptists in the South and the free-will Baptists and the missionary Baptists and the Southern Baptists and the Northern Baptists None of them gets along.

We've got 3 or 4 kinds of Presbyterians. We've got 3 or 4 kinds of Catholics. We've got all kinds of different kinds of churches and none of them gets along. Now it's a shame. It's a shame when Jesus' name people that baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ out of 113 groups besides the Independents fuss and fight and can't get along.

It's a shame when the people that claim to have the Holy Ghost and the Trinitarians that can't get along. It's a shame when the Baptists that claim to have the same Calvinistic doctrine and they can't get along.

It's a shame when those that follow that, they can't get along. There's something wrong. Whether you like me or whether you appreciate what I say, there's something wrong. I'm going to tell you what it is.

It's because we don't obey God's Word and love our brothers and follow all after His righteousness and do what He says do. That's what's wrong. That's what's wrong. You can call me the devil if you want to.

I got a note in the orphan last night calling me one. But I'm going to tell you one thing. I'm going to tell you one thing. The devil always do rise up when you start trying to come against him. The devil always does rise up.

Spiritual Maturity and Feeding Christ’s Lambs

My God, I went to a church that didn't have this revelation of the message of Jesus Christ. Preacher after preacher had been there and tried to tell him this truth and that truth and the other truth, lead him into this.

He got sour and bitterness and didn't even want to see one of them coming toward him. I went there and preached the love of God. The first thing you know, he wanted to talk to me. I said, well, I'll talk to you later.

I led him on and led him on and led him on until he got so hungry that I know that I could feed him what God wanted me to feed him. Amen. Another thing, we've got to realize that we've got babies in Christ.

We've got to realize that we've got babies in Christ. A man come to help me out of one of the large churches that he encountered in a crusade. He was leading the group of young Christians and he was the head of it in the church, in a large church.

He'd come and took off a week or two and stayed with me to help lead my singing in one of my meetings. When he got back, the people come flocking around him and said, oh, my. He said, we're so glad to see you back.

He'd been gone two weeks now. He said, we're so glad to see you back, brother. He said, what's wrong? He said, well, all of us babies need our diapers changed. You've been gone too long. There's a time that you have to do things like that.

Babies have to be taken care of. Why do you think he told Peter, if you love me, feed my lambs? There's lambs and there's sheep. You've got to know how to feed the lambs as well as the sheep. Do you understand?

Do you love God tonight? You say, I don't want to. Oh, my God, folks. If we can come together, you'll see what God will do. Well, you said they'll never do it. Well, it's my job to preach it and tell them to, whether you're doing it or not.

Amen. It's my job to tell you to do it. But I can't tell you things that you ought to know when you're rebellious against the things that you already know. When you can't do it, you can't lead people like that, folks.

Your pastor can't do that. We should never have all the trouble that we've got today among ourselves as brothers and sisters. We should bind together and work together and live together and let God, and if a man has got some truth of God's word, you should want that truth, whether it's in your creeds or your doctrines or not.

If it's God's words, you should want that truth. Do you understand what I'm talking about? Certainly you should want that truth. Maybe you've never heard it, but it's God's word, and maybe you never heard it that way, but you need that truth.

Oh, praise His name. Hallelujah.